Getting my sourdough starter – which I have officially named моя закваска (“My sourdough” in Ukrainian, because I like the way it sounds and it immerses the language into my daily life) – has been one of my best homemaking decisions ever! I have been baking like crazy every free second I get, obsessively trying all of the different ways to use up my discard.

I had a request for Bagels, so we went with a Pumpkin Pie flavor for Fall. They were literally the BEST Bagels we’ve ever eaten! I also went ahead and made a batch of Everything Bagels (which were great as well) using Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning because I knew my husband wouldn’t be on board with the Pumpkin Pie flavor.

From now on, we’re never buying bagels again. We are going to make our homemade Bagels even easier by preparing them the night before and letting them rise overnight while we sleep so that we can begin straight at the boiling stage in the morning and get right to our homeschool work.

We started in the morning with a nice room temperature sourdough discard that was fed the evening before.

We added together all the ingredients – first the dry, then wet – to form a nice smooth dough, then let the dough rise for a few hours.

After it doubled, it was time to form the Bagels. We cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and shaped the dough into Bagels. This was the best bagel dough I’ve worked with, and the first time they came out exactly the way I like my Bagels.

Mia did a great job shaping the Bagels! Once they were in their bagel form, we let them rest for another 30 minutes before boiling.

We filled our Cast Iron Dutch Oven with 8 cups water & 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and heat to a strong boil. Once the water was boiling, we added 2 Bagels at a time for 30 seconds on each side, then transfer to a wire rack with a piece of parchment paper placed on it until all Bagels

Then we did an egg wash to each bagel and added the Pumpkin Pie topping to the Bagels and baked for 20 minutes in the oven. This topping is a Fall-inspired copycat from Panera’s Cinnamon Sugar Bagels.

The kids loved picking all of the crispy melted topping off of the parchment paper and calling it “candy.” It reminded me a lot of a molasses candy (but with more toffee texture) that I had made at school as a child when I was learning about Little House on the Prarie & Pioneer life. It was one of my fondest memories from that school.

If you don’t have a bunch of kids to eat it all in seconds, consider crumbling up the pieces to use as a crispy topping for another Fall treat, or sprinkled on whipped cream on top of a warm pumpkin flavored beverage to make it extra special.

We waited about 5 minutes for the Bagels to cool because we were so hungry by the time they were finished, although I’d suggest a longer waiting period. It was very hot to cut, but soooo warm and delicious. The cream cheese was really easy to spread! Because they were fresh out of the oven we didn’t need to heat them in the Toaster. Later when we did reheat bagels in the Toaster, they were somehow even better.

I hope that you love them as much as we did!

Ingredients | Bagels

DRY:

• 3 3/4 Bread Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast

WET:

• 1 Can Pumpkin Puree
• 3/4 Cup Sourdough Discard
• 1/4 Cup Warm Water

Ingredients | Pumpkin Pie Topping

• 4 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Turbanado Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Cardamom
• Salted Butter, melted

Ingredients | Additionals

• 8 Cups Water – for boiling
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar – for boiling
• 1 Egg yolk – for egg wash
• 1 Tablespoon-ish Water – for egg wash

Directions

• Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your Kitchenaid Stand Mixer then whisk together until combined.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together using the dough hook.
• Transfer dough to a greased bowl to rise for at least 2 hours.
• Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Knead into balls and use your thumb to punch a hole through to form a bagel shape and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Let rise at least 30 minutes to overnight.
• Boil 8 cups water with 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar on stove. Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Add Bagels to boiling water 2 at a time for 30 seconds on each side. Remove from boiling water and set aside on a wire rack to cool while you finish boiling the rest of the Bagels. 
• Transfer cooled bagels back to your baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together Egg Yolk with 1 Tablespoon-ish water. (I usually just fill up the bigger half of the egg shell with water). Brush egg wash over each bagel getting the tops and sides really well covered.
• Top each bagel with the Pumpkin Pie topping, pressing in lightly.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 425°F. Flip baking sheet after 10 minutes (set timer so you don’t forget).
• Let cool before serving with Cream Cheese: plain, pumpkin spice, or maple pecan flavors would all be delicious. Enjoy!

Until next time ♡ Mama Morozov